An announcement of the annual May Day rally’s cancellation is expected to be released by the end of the week, according to Seepaul Narine, General Secretary, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).
The announcement is expected to be made just days after the flying of kites and social gatherings at the local parks and recreational spots on Easter Monday were cancelled as part of the measures instituted to stem the spread of the coronavirus. According to Narine, the globally observed event is being cancelled until different plans that will not affect the health and safety of Guyanese can be established. It will be the second major event on the 2020 calendar cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following the prohibition of most Easter festivities.
“We are looking at options, definitely we will do something,” he told Stabroek News on Tuesday. Narine explained that due to the pandemic and the curfew that has been ordered, persons are not permitted to have any gatherings, and therefore, the May Day rally would be cancelled this year. “The curfew is until the 3rd of May, so you know, it will still be in the effect that you can’t have any gatherings and so on,” Narine said.
What will happen instead, the General Secretary informed, is that the unions would collectively release an advisory on a later date. The General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis, also confirmed that the public would be alerted as to what is to be expected in observance of this year’s May Day. “We will make plans and be able to release a statement probably by this weekend,” he told Stabroek News during a telephone interview. Lewis also said that he would not make the decision to say that the observance is cancelled adding that the Unions would make a decision on what is best for the public.
The Guyana Public Service Union has already said it is not participating in the annual May Day rally.
